Donkey Kong Is A Racist !

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grey fox
Donkey Kong...amusing game of an ape gone mad or the symbol of the white man's fear of African American sexual prowess?

Sure it seems like a simple game of an ape throwing barrels at a carpenter (this game occured before Mario became a plumber), but looking deeper at Donkey Kong we find that the video game is an enditement of black men on the level of Birth of a Nation.

Consider this: the plot of the game is that an ape goes mad and steals Mario's girldfriend Pauline. Now in this seemingly simple plot, we see some major racial symbolism. Apes are traditionally representative of black men, who were treated like animals for so much of their lives. So what we really have here is a black man kidnapping a white woman. Why does he kidnap her? We have no reason; Donkey Kong himself is an unreasoning beast. One can only assume that his attraction to Pauline is in fact some perverted sexual desire and the DK plans on raping the poor girl once he has dispensed with Mario. Naturally, Mario seeks to save his woman. Mario himself is a racial stereotype, a short greasy Italian carpenter. Is it any coincidence that Mario's ethnicity originates in Italy, home of the ancient Roman empire, or that he himself shares the same professions as Jesus Christ? In fact, as the player controls Mario, we find that the jumpman has the ability to revive himself from the dead, thus completing the analogy. What we have is a holy figure, a Christ figure, pursuing a symbol of black sexual aggression.

In the first level of Donkey Kong, the title ape does not use any sort of jungle weaponry to face Mario. Rather, they face off in some sort of factory, with DK hurling barrels at Mario as he seeks to reach the top of the level. This stage suggests that the black man has become dangerous living within white society; that he can use white folks' own tools as weapons against the status quo. While Doney kong throws tools at Mario, the carpenter has his own weapons to rely upon. The hammers hanging in the level make obvious tools of attack, and yet Mario, following the pacifistic ways of Christ, uses them as tools. Rather than attack his kidnapper, he smashes the oncoming barrels with the sledges. The first level of the video reinforces the old and very racist stereotypes that the white man is smarter than the inherently violent and foolhardy black man.

Level two continues the factory setting, but adds some twists to it. Now Mario must contend with multiple fireballs as well as some sort of unidentifiable spring things. The weapons that DK uses are still man-made, but they are more mysterious than the simple barrel, suggesting a transition to a more animalistic form of attack. Additionally, in this level Mario gains extra points by recovering Pauline's purse and parasol. Obviously, DK does not care for Pauline's monetary possessions, which reinforces the suggestion of his intended rape. During these first two stages, Mario simply has to get near Pauline for the level to end; DK presumably seizes her and runs away, suggesting that the black male is not only lustful but also cowardly.

By stage three, Mario must face numerous fiery ghosts. They appear out of nowhere and serve Donkey Kong's bidding, suggesting a possible voodoo magic at work. Worse still, Mario cannot usually jump over the ghosts, and must rely on the hammers to defeat them. Blessed with his holy might, Mario has no problem dispensing these evil spirits, marking the first time that the carpenter strikes out at his sentient enemies. Once again, Pauline's parasol and purse appear; apparently Mario gave them back to her but DK threw them away again. Perhaps he sees them as symbols of wealth, something that a black man in America can never have. Also once again, DK is portrayed as a stupid beast, and simply stands around dancing as Mario removes the floor from beneath him, sending him crashing to his doom. Even at the end of the game, the cycle begins anew, with the three levels constantly repeating themselves with increased difficulty. Obviously, the black man is not capable of redemption and must continuously undergo punishment for him baser instincts. This portrayal of African Americans is stunningly racist. By the year 1981, you think America and Japan would have evolved beyond such archaic views and stereotypes.

But all is not lost. When we move on to Donkey Kong Jr., we find a villainous Mario. This game marks the first and only time when the Christ-like Mario is used as a villain. He has Donkey Kong caged, which is obviously symbolic to a return to slavery for the ape. Additionally, you play DK's son. Of note is the fact that we have never been introduced to a Mrs. Donkey Kong, which once again reinforces the racist notion that African Americans have no family values. In Donkey Kong Jr., Junior faces off against Mario in the jungle, meaning that Mario's rage has become so great that he is parading his conquest through his native lands. This obviously speaks to the notion of revenge making monsters of us all. Despite the jungle setting, Mario uses robotic crocodiles and other seemingly artificial creatures, symbolizing the white man's domestication of the wild. In the third stage, the battle spills over into a factory. The factory, which seems to be in the middle of the jungle, is in shambles, with electric sparks everywhere. Obviously, we are being asked to believe that an African cannot build a working factory, and their own sheer stupidity is turned against them by Mario.

Ultimately, Mario is defeated in a manner very similar to DK's initial defeat. Unlike Mario, Junior does not mind using violence against his foes, and kills all manner of beast, bird, and robotic crocodile with fruit. Obviously, the black man does not share the same reverance for life that the white carpenter does. Ultimately, DK is freed and Mario is defeated, but the fact remains that the entire trouble never would have started had the ape been able to keep his libido under control. While Donkey Kong Jr. does serve as an enditement on slavery, the game still suggests that apes, or rather blacks, should be in a lesser role than whites in American society, nay, in the entire world. These games serve as an argument for the "separate but equal" clause that plagued America following the emancipation of black slaves. The games are unapologetically racist. Worse yet, they are seen as classics, reproduced in modern video games like Animal Crossing and Mario versus Donkey Kong and fully ingrained in our society. Is that really what we want children to learn when they pick up a controller?

* * *

Aw, I kid. If you haven't been able to tell, I'm completely spewing bullshit in the above rant. Donkey Kong and Donkey Kong Jr. are not some evil racist conspiracy. Donkey Kong is about an ape throwing barrels at a carpenter. Donkey Kong Jr. is about a man trying to kill a monkey with robotic crocodiles. The notion that there is some sort of higher meaning to it is laughable. However, I thought it would be nice to demonstrate how educated people tend to take something simple and fun and turn it into something appauling and offensive. I wouldn't go as far to say that academia is bullshit, but it's got to be limited by common sense. If you really believe what I said in the above rant, please drop a barrel on your head for being so thoroughly stupid as to buy into my bullshit.

(COMMENTS?)

Samurai Guy
You have thought this through way too much, but you seem very devoted to your standpoint. I commend you.

clapping

angelicdarkness
omg, you need a life hahahahahaha

Corran
roll eyes (sarcastic) see I've been saying for years that cocaine abuse is bad.

MonkeyNipples
lol and now i beleive u

unknownrocker
coacaines 1 hell of a drug

pr1983
grey fox u are readin way too much into this

grey fox
(bowing) thank you thank you

grey fox
and another rant (wrote ages ago decided to dust off)


Look on the bright side..."
My ASS.

There are few things that piss me off as much as unfounded optimism. The entire concept of optimism makes no sense to me. In a world where more and more nations encourage getting ahead and where it is becoming increasingly difficult to do so without giving it one's all, optimism encourages complacency and settling for second best.

That is not to say that any kind of optimism is completely useless. Without hope and the possibility of success, then people would sit around like bumps on logs for the rest of their lives, not bothering to pursue any sort of real goal because they would be assured of failure. So keeping one's hopes up does serve the purpose of keeping one motivated. However, when it is not combined with realism, optimism becomes essentially useless, telling people that complacency and shiftless ideal will win the day against adversity.

The phrase "look on the bright side" seems likewise overused and is the greatest example of misplaced optimism. Always preceded by some sort of awful circumstance, "look on the bright side" is used as a poor attempt to keep people from becoming focused on a problem, telling them that they should instead settle for lesser circumstances rather than actually thinking of a productive way to confront a given problem.

"I lost my job."

"Look on the bright side...at least you still have your health."

Luckily most people do not listen overmuch to the meaning behind such a throwaway phrase. Looking on the bright side in the above example means realizing that, despite the fact that your means of support is gone, you have your health, despite the unsaid fact that it will likely deteriorate as you slide farther into poverty. It doesn't provide any sort of constructive means to find a new job or do anything other than provide less than a moment of a pick-me-up, a poor attempt to feel better when faced with trouble. A more constructive approach would be trying to help the newly unemployed person work around the problem, acquiring a new job and getting back on his feet. At such a point, it might then be appropriate to look on the bright side, since such trials are firmly rooted in the past and the problem has been solved through perseverance and practicality.

Many people get ladened down with optimism, making reality much harsher when it imposes its insurmountable will upon us. Children are constantly told that they can be whatever they want to be. They grow up thinking that they will become astronauts and rockstars, but eventually find themselves laden down by life and thrust into the rungs of middle management, forced behind desks or deep friers, their dreams of the past nothing but distant fantasies. The problem here is not that such children grow up with hopes and dreams (which in and of itself is rarely a bad thing) but that they grow up with the expectation that their ascension into superstar careers and lifestyles will be easy. After all, they are told that if they want it enough, it will happen. A more accurate thing to tell children is that they have a chance of becoming astronauts, wrestlers, and rockstars, but that the road will not be easy. To truly succeed, they will need passion, determination, and luck. Having hope is one thing, but many people seem to expect their dreams to come true simply because they want them to, as though their lives were some sort of personally tailored fairy tale.

Overall, optimism means nothing without being tempered with realism. Optimism can provide us with dreams, but it takes realism and often cynicism to achieve those desires. If people realized exactly how much work goes behind becoming an astronaut or a musician, maybe there would be more people willing to dig down and pursue their dreams, knowing what it would take rather than becoming discouraged when things don't go the way they had hoped.

On the other hand, maybe there would be more people stuck in jobs that they don't really want, as people realize how hard it would be to really achieve their dreams. Even then, such a case would make way for those who would be willing to really dig in and battle for what they want.

Overall, optimism is very overrated. For every Cinderella story, there are a thousand stories of failure, of people who were not lucky and who have to really struggle to get anywhere in life.

If you don't agree with me, you can always look on the bright side...

This rant is over.

Darth_Midal
that was just beautiful fully entertaning and I loved it thank you for making my day

WindDancer
no No NO!!! Papa Smurf is the REAL communist! Not DK! Didn't you ever watch the Smurfs???

Corran
Papa smurf is not a communist - where do y'all get your drugs?

trouble
laughing out loud

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